NHK introduce themselves like this."NHK is financed by the receiving fee paid by each household that owns a television set. This system enables the Corporation to maintain independence from any governmental and private organization, and ensures that the opinions of viewers and listeners are assigned top priority." Actually basically Japanese pay fee to them. But since last year because of a series of scandals, and also because the company president Ebisawa is refusing to resign. (crazy guy). Then now it is hot topic NHK to drastically change its programming under political pressure of LDP Acting Secretary General Shinzo Abe and more. Hmm who can trust such a company? So many Japanese refused to pay it. (not only Japanese it seems) Yeah, Here is one, me.
Anyway since it is public broadcasting, they do not have commercials between programs. So even after a heavy documentary(This page is "60 years of Japan after ww2") or a big sports game, suddenly the next program starts like "It is the time of "MINNA NO UTA!". "MINNA NO UTA = Everybody's song" is a short musical TV program which has been aired since 1961. In the early days they introduce some public domain children's songs like this, fususato. However after around 1970, they started to air new songs, popular music, then some of them made a big hit sometimes. The most famouse one would be "Yamaguchi-san'chi no Tsutomu-kun". Then the old grandfather's old clock by Ken Hirai was aired in this "MINTA NO UTA" in 2002 too. (in the Japanese lyric the clock was 100 years old, in the original it is 99 years right? but it cannot fit themusic in Japanese lyrics. A pronunciation of 99 is too long in this case.) Then recently I heard a song which aired in "MINNA NO UTA" seem to be a hit. It is Tsuki no waltz = A moon waltz (win) by Mio Isayama. Hmm nice! please check it out.
I think they have the same system in the UK-you pay a licence fee ea. year if you own a telly-that's for the BBC. They're programming is pretty good at least from the BBC shows we get in the USA ("Keeping Up Appearnces" is one of my favorite programs from the BBC)
Posted by: J L | Saturday, January 22, 2005 at 07:26 AM
heh heh..Jonny, angry jonny, this is..sorry, I love that old POE song..what about PBS?..they get funding from corporations (PR stuff), government grants by National Endowment for The Arts, and from the support of "viewers like you" to paraphrase their fundraising catch phrase. The sad thing is, Public Broadcasting is a good idea, but unfortunately people think of it as an opportunity to make it their own cash cow. I have to agree, I would insist on some sort of regulation, some sort of governing board instead of this executive hierarchy, but then they are competing with corporately run networks. I think it is time for people to start web based programming. It is harder to regulate and you could have a larger audience and more variety than some narrow minded marketing major, or grant limited programming could ever aspire to. too there is Riverdance..my gosh it was fun the first couple of times, but enough already! :) web programming onegai shimasu. ;)
Posted by: robert | Saturday, January 22, 2005 at 02:41 AM
Yeah, when I lived in Japan I didn't know any gaijin who agreed to pay the NHK fee. This idea of paying a television channel, when they are already paid through advertising, runs contrary to Western thought. Also at odds is the idea of paying a state-run entity money to provide news and entertainment. If it is state-run, then it runs of the potential of being biased. So, it's not surprising gaijin refuse to pay this.
Actually, I'm happy to hear that Japanese will begin to stop paying. I think it's a good development.
Posted by: Jonny Angel | Friday, January 21, 2005 at 11:46 PM